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No, buddy. Everybody, including about 85% of the people on this forum, had picked Lacy for a KO win over Calzaghe. The betting odds were something like 4/6 with Lacy as the favorite, and even the vast majority of the boxing "experts", both here at Boxingscene and the guys on ESPN, ShoBox and HBO were picking Lacy for a late KO win, or at the very least, a smooth decision victory. Seems like the oddsmakers were overrating Lacy the least, if you go back and read some of the outrageous statements made by people about how badly Lacy was going to pound Calzaghe. WIth the overwhelming majority picking Lacy to win, I"m surprised the odds weren't 5/1 against Calzaghe. I didn't put money on it myself, simply because I don't like to bet unless I can get 3 or 4/1 odds....a waste of time otherwise.
If you think the English have overrated Lacy, both before and after the fight, it's probably because Americans presented him as the best we had to offer at the time (which he was, albeit inexperienced). I think about the only person who didn't overrated Lacy, was Calzaghe. And even though I had picked Calzaghe to win, I'm guilty of overrating Lacy myself, because I had no clue Joe would humiliate him to the extent he did. I figured Joe for a decision, with some rounds going to both fighters until Calzaghe swept the last 4 or 5 rounds. I never expected a total shutout, or thought I'd see Lacy crumble like he did. Thought it would be far more competetive.
Anyway, back to my point: We (Americans) are far more guilty of overrating Lacy than the British. And the real hell of it is, we didn't really overrate Lacy to that great of an extent, but rather we dramatically underrated Calzaghe.
I don't give a **** what anybody says...anyone that can beat Lacy and Kessler as easily as Calzaghe did is anything but a feather fisted bum, and to even suggest otherwise just reeks of sour g****s, or limited knowledge of the sport. Or both.
Love him or hate him (Calzaghe), you have to admit he was extremely impressive against Lacy, Kessler, Hopkins and yes, even Jones. He was considered the underdog coming in against all 4 of these (though barely, against Jones, but even so....over half the people on this forum had picked Jones to win), and with the exception of Hopkins (who is a spoiler, has been for a long time, and nearly impossible to look good against), beat them all in impressive fashion.
Yes, he could've come to America and fought the top guys sooner, but to be honest, many people don't really feel that America is the "home" of the sport of Boxing, but rather feel that the EU is where they should be fighting. And to be fair, when was the last time you even heard of 60,000 attending a fight at MSG? Hell, I dont' even think they have the seating for a third of that. But they see numbers like that in Germany for a Klitschko fight, and the Kessler/Calzaghe fight drew pretty damned good, too. It was in Cardiff Wales, and I remember someone saying on fight night that there were 40,000+ in the crowd. So maybe we think the boxing in the US is second to none, but they seem to have many more fans across the pond, and a greater earning potential, especially from the gate. And their fans seem to be more loyal than those in the US, too....Thousands of them follow their fighters to the US to watch them fight. Remember the Hatton and Calzaghe crowds in the stands making such a racket?
You guys should maybe consider not trashing every fighter who didn't run his career/life just the way you think he should've, and maybe just accept their matchups, wins and losses as they are and be happy. I've seen more juvenlistic **** here on this forum than one would expect to see in a goddamn 3 grader playground. Grow the hell up, all of you, and act yer farking age.
If you think the English have overrated Lacy, both before and after the fight, it's probably because Americans presented him as the best we had to offer at the time (which he was, albeit inexperienced). I think about the only person who didn't overrated Lacy, was Calzaghe. And even though I had picked Calzaghe to win, I'm guilty of overrating Lacy myself, because I had no clue Joe would humiliate him to the extent he did. I figured Joe for a decision, with some rounds going to both fighters until Calzaghe swept the last 4 or 5 rounds. I never expected a total shutout, or thought I'd see Lacy crumble like he did. Thought it would be far more competetive.
Anyway, back to my point: We (Americans) are far more guilty of overrating Lacy than the British. And the real hell of it is, we didn't really overrate Lacy to that great of an extent, but rather we dramatically underrated Calzaghe.
I don't give a **** what anybody says...anyone that can beat Lacy and Kessler as easily as Calzaghe did is anything but a feather fisted bum, and to even suggest otherwise just reeks of sour g****s, or limited knowledge of the sport. Or both.
Love him or hate him (Calzaghe), you have to admit he was extremely impressive against Lacy, Kessler, Hopkins and yes, even Jones. He was considered the underdog coming in against all 4 of these (though barely, against Jones, but even so....over half the people on this forum had picked Jones to win), and with the exception of Hopkins (who is a spoiler, has been for a long time, and nearly impossible to look good against), beat them all in impressive fashion.
Yes, he could've come to America and fought the top guys sooner, but to be honest, many people don't really feel that America is the "home" of the sport of Boxing, but rather feel that the EU is where they should be fighting. And to be fair, when was the last time you even heard of 60,000 attending a fight at MSG? Hell, I dont' even think they have the seating for a third of that. But they see numbers like that in Germany for a Klitschko fight, and the Kessler/Calzaghe fight drew pretty damned good, too. It was in Cardiff Wales, and I remember someone saying on fight night that there were 40,000+ in the crowd. So maybe we think the boxing in the US is second to none, but they seem to have many more fans across the pond, and a greater earning potential, especially from the gate. And their fans seem to be more loyal than those in the US, too....Thousands of them follow their fighters to the US to watch them fight. Remember the Hatton and Calzaghe crowds in the stands making such a racket?
You guys should maybe consider not trashing every fighter who didn't run his career/life just the way you think he should've, and maybe just accept their matchups, wins and losses as they are and be happy. I've seen more juvenlistic **** here on this forum than one would expect to see in a goddamn 3 grader playground. Grow the hell up, all of you, and act yer farking age.
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